Van Buren Bridge Historical Mitigation

Aerial view of the Historic Van Buren Bridge We want your feedback!

Help us determine how to commemorate the historic bridge:

Why are we doing this survey?

The historic Van Buren Bridge was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. As required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, ODOT and the Federal Highway Administration will mitigate for the loss of the historic resource.

Federal money has already been set aside for the purpose of meeting this Section 106 requirement as part of the overall project costs. We are partnering with the City of Corvallis Parks and Recreation Department to incorporate the exhibit into city park property.

We are leading the effort and will pay for the project planning and construction. The City of Corvallis will then take ownership of the exhibit and be responsible for the long-term maintenance.

What made the old Van Buren Bridge unique?

Benton County hired the Coast Bridge Company to build the Van Buren Bridge, which was the first bridge across the Willamette River in Corvallis. It was completed in 1913. It had a human-powered swing span to allow boats to navigate the river below. To rotate, the swing span used a series of gears called the turning mechanism. A “key” was inserted into a gear box and people would turn the long handle of the key to make the middle truss swing open parallel to the banks of the river.

Drawing of the turning mechanism from the historic Van Buren Bridge

It was one of two remaining vehicular swing span bridges in the state (the other being the Umpqua River Bridge in Reedsport) and an increasingly rare example of pin-connected steel trusses. Example of pin-connected steel truss

This striking bridge was an important visual icon and unique engineering feat located in the City of Corvallis for more than one hundred years.

Pony Trusses

The pony trusses were located on each side of the east end of the bridge. The pony trusses are about sixty feet long, a similar length to the train in Avery Park. Pony trusses are a common design from the early 1900s though not always connected to a larger truss system like on the Van Buren Bridge. Individually, the design is often found over smaller crossings.

Turning Mechanism

The turning mechanism used to rotate a span of the bridge to allow river traffic to navigate under the bridge. At about twenty-five feet wide and six feet tall, the turning mechanism is about five feet wider than the watershed map fountain found in Riverfront Park. The turning mechanism is a unique piece and distinguished the Van Buren Bridge from many other Willamette River crossings.

There are currently two options for exhibit being considered.

Place the exhibit between the two bridges in Riverfront Park.
Design an exhibit which would be incorporated into the future North Riverfront Park.

In 2007, the City of Corvallis came up with a plan after studying the North Riverfront Park, the site directly north of the current park which now has an informal boat launch referred to as Michael’s Landing. This plan would likely need to be updated but the exhibit for the Van Buren Bridge could be incorporated into the larger design. Visit the City of Corvallis webpage to learn more about their project.

Alternatively, we could use the current Riverfront Park, specifically the area between the two bridges, for the exhibit. This area could house a smaller scale exhibit and is closer to the original location of the bridge.

This map shows a comparison between the two locations:
Map showing potential exhibit locations

Thank you for helping us figure out how to commemorate the historic Van Buren Bridge!

If you have any questions or concerns about the survey or the project, please feel free to reach out.

Contact:

Kirsten Straus, ODOT Region 2 Architectural Historian
Phone: 503-302-8653
Email: kirsten.straus@odot.oregon.gov

👉📋 Take our survey:
Share your thoughts on the potential exhibit!

Historic Mitigation Efforts

As part of an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), we will mitigate for the loss of the historic Van Buren Bridge through several projects aimed at interpreting the significance of the bridge for the public. We're currently working on a Multiple Property Document for the National Register of Historic Places for downtown Corvallis and an interpretive station for salvaged pieces of the bridge. To meet some of the required items we've been working with a team from the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER).

The HAER team is made up of engineers, historians, architects, and other professionals who document America's engineering and industrial heritage. Managed as part of the National Park Service (NPS), HAER provides accurate plans, 3D scans, historical reports, and high-resolution technical photography as part of their evaluations. See their work on the Van Buren Bridge below! If you are interested in cloud modeling data for the Van Buren Bridge, please reach out to Kirsten Straus.

Provided by HAER, check out their completed summary and plans of the bridge and its history.

Picture Gallery

Pictures taken by Justin R. Scalera, Photographer, HAER, September 2023.

Want more details about what you are seeing in these pictures?

You can see the more technical description of what is being shown in each picture by cross referencing the photo number in this document.

Upcoming Events

August 26 | 6:30 p.m.
Benton County Historic Resource Commission
Join via Zoom meeting or in-person at:
4500 SW Research Way, Corvallis

Accessible parking located in front of the building. Accomodation request information on the Commission page.

Contacts

Kirsten Straus

Region 2 Architectural Historian

Phone: 503-302-8653

kirsten.straus@odot.oregon.gov

Mindy McCartt
Public Information Officer
Phone: 503-507-6045
Mindy.M.MCCARTT@odot.oregon.gov

Educational Videos

This series of Educational Videos are part of the mitigation efforts for the Van Buren Bridge. Created by Utah Valley University in partnership with the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), this video series is directed at students in engineering interested in learning about the complexities of steel bridge construction.

The project was completed in collaboration with Oregon State University and ODOT Engineers using the Van Buren Bridge as a test case and example. AISC has educational material for these videos available at their website.

The project was completed in collaboration with Oregon State University and ODOT Engineers using the Van Buren Bridge as a test case and example. The first video won “Best Cinematography” at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival for Winter 2026.

Check out the playlist, or watch each video individually below.